Several years ago, I asked in this column, "When does our hope for Pope Francis become denial?"After last week's frenzy over women deacons, I believe I may have found my answer. continue reading​

We agree with the conclusions that Jamie comes to in her essay. It is now abundantly clear that Francis does not understand what justice, dignity and full equality mean with respect to the function of Catholic Women within the Roman Catholic Church. Francis is not constrained by Roman bureaucracy. He is constrained by his own lack of understanding and vision.

Pope Francis believes that women cannot assume these leadership roles in the church because of our bodies. He believes the God simply cannot work through the female body in the way in which God works through the male body. He believes that, when it comes to consecrating the Eucharist, the female anatomy somehow renders God powerless.

I realize that, among progressive Catholics, the source of hope for Francis comes from a place of love -- a love for the church, a desire to see it serve its people well, a longing for it to be more fully a force for good in our world.

But no one is served from only reading sound bites that seem to offer an inkling of hope, while downplaying or ignoring altogether the words from the same statement that demonstrate clearly the injustice that women are facing with this pope. read full essay​

It is increasingly clear that we will not see justice for women in the Catholic Church under this pope.